PERTH TO KEIR. 299 



Duchess, bred at Keir, and bought by Mr. John 

 Gardiner of North Kinkell, an old tenant of the 

 Strathallan family, and very fond of shorthorns. 



The tenants keep a number of cows, generally of the 

 original Perthshire breed, which they put to short- 

 horn bulls, either their own or his lordship's, who 

 gives them special facilities at the Home Farm. The 

 calves thus obtained, together with others bought in 

 the district, and occasionally a few stirks from the 

 Falkirks, are reared for stores, which are eventually 

 turned off principally to the Glasgow and Edinburgh 

 markets, at from two and a-half to three years old. 

 The strath of Earn consists more of arable than 

 grass, and is principally on the old red sandstone. 

 Lord Strathallan has about five hundred acres in 

 his own hands, including the Park, which is princi- 

 pally stocked with Norlands or small-sized West 

 Highlanders, which the Northern dealers collect, 

 and drop by scores on the road to their regular cus- 

 tomers. They will work up any roughage, and it is 

 not for them that his lordship cultivates his favourite 

 green crop of St. John's Day Rye. He began with 

 it fifteen years since, and generally sows it in June. 

 It is seldom cut before May and then the field is 

 ploughed down, and a green crop is taken. 



There is a Leicester flock of fifty ewes at the 

 Castle, of which the tups are sold for a cross to the 

 Ochil Hill farmers, who keep up their Cheviot and 

 blackface ewe stock by buying in lambs ; and the half- 

 bred and cross-bred produce go to farmers in the 



